Julian Orlando Chaves
Student Journalist
For the first time in 18 months, the Mohawk Mountaineers put on their orange, black and white uniforms and took part in an OCAA match. Although it was just a pair of exhibition matches, it was a breath of fresh air across the athletic department with live action returning for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
Following multiple weeks of tryouts, the men's and women's soccer teams travelled to Vaughan yesterday for a preseason showdown against the Humber Hawks.
The women's team ended the first half trailing 3-0 against a strong Hawks squad which will host the CCAA National Championship in November. During the second half the team's defense held strong and the offense went on the attack. That second half saw the Mountaineers score the only goal on the day between the two teams but the women ultimately fell 3-1 to the Hawks.
It was a hard-fought match as Mohawk finished strong and pushed back in the second half. Sabrina Cianciosi, a 5th-year veteran in the women's soccer program, says the team chemistry was coming together throughout the game despite all the youth on the team.
"The team is a whole new roster, there are few returning players, so the first game out being new to each other, I think we started well," says Cianciosi. "As the game went on, we got more comfortable. I think communication and ball movement was improving throughout the game."
The men's team also closed out the first half with a 3-0 deficit but couldn't come out with a similar performance in the second half. Up against one of the premiere programs in the country, the Mountaineers ultimately dropped their first match 7-0 against Humber.
Under the guidance of Jordan Brown who heads into his first OCAA season at the helm of the men's soccer program, there were plenty of new faces on the men's team as there is no turnover from the 2019-2020 squad.
Brown says it was a tough task with such a new group going up against one of the best in the province, but he says they'll take the positives from last night and move forward.
"I think the match was important to remember where we're at in sense of preparation. We have only had a few sessions and we just played against a national champion contender, so it's a very tough task for a team that hasn't done a lot of work so far," says Brown. "We can get more fit and we can put in more work. It is essential to take the positives from it and look forward."
Despite a pair of losses on Thursday afternoon, it was an exciting day for the athletes, coaches, and all those within the Mountaineers as our varsity teams returned to action. There was a sense of normalcy for our student-athletes for the first time since the pandemic hit last March.
With the first one out of the way, both Mountaineers soccer teams will now look ahead to their final exhibition matchup next Saturday against St. Clair before they open the OCAA season against the Sheridan Bruins on Saturday, September 18th.
